SFA transferred 725 million BGN to farmers under the Single Payment Scheme
The amount accounts for 98.2% of the applications received under the Single Area Payment Scheme (SAPS) and the Complementary National Direct Payments (CNDP) scheme during Campaign 2011. They were paid to 86 199 SAPS candidates and 67 280 CNDP candidates. This is the first time the Bulgarian paying agency authorizes a single tranche for such a big amount. SFA undertook to pay at least 90% of the subsidies for the two schemes before January 31 as part of a Bulgarian agriculture framework agreement made September 2011.
645 million BGN were paid under SAPS and 80 million BGN under CNDP. The two schemes are the primary mechanism for subsidizing Bulgarian agriculture. It is vital that farmers receive their subsidies before the start of the new agriculture season. This makes it easier for them to plan their expenses for land cultivation.
Payments were calculated on the basis of currently existing data on the geographical distribution of lands eligible for subsidies. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF) is currently processing farmer appeals against this data. When this processing is complete, MAF will update the data on eligible lands and SFA will make additional payments. Farmers who presented documents of ownership for lands declared by more than one farmer will receive their subsidies as well at that stage.
Starting January 30, each candidate will also be able to check the exact amount of their subsidies using the system for personal records on SFA’s homepage.